Forage Wizard Launches on Steam: Cozy Alchemy Clicker

Caption: Automation kicks in once you unlock self-chopping trees and elemental distilleries. The loop pivots from clicking to managing.

Updated 2026-10-28: The $5.59 promotion ended September 20 (Steam had a new 25% cut to $5.24 until November 3 on October 28), and the free demo is no longer listed on Steam.

Key takeaways

• Launched May 5, 2026 on Steam (Windows + macOS) at $6.99.
• Solo-team developer/publisher: Lost Maxim. The separate demo (App 4189140) stayed up after launch but was no longer on Steam by October 28.
• The launch snapshot was 100% positive after the first 25-plus reviews; on October 28 reception was Very Positive at 86% from 1,641 reviews.
• Game size is roughly 500 MB; the genre is clicker / incremental with crafting and alchemy systems.

Forage Wizard current status: October 28, 2026

On October 28 the official Steam listing showed the regular $6.99 price cut 25% to $5.24, in a promotion ending November 3; an earlier 20% promotion at $5.59 ended September 20. Reception was Very Positive at 86% from 1,641 reviews, with 79% of 59 reviews from the last 30 days positive. The launch coverage below keeps its original May 5 context, so the early 100% figure is intentionally historical.

What Happened With the Forage Wizard Launch

Lost Maxim opened the Forage Wizard Steam page in mid-2025 and ran a public demo from October 2025. A second playtest, labeled "Forage Wizard 2 of 2," wrapped in early 2026 with the developer using community feedback to rebalance late-tree progression and the elemental distillery costs.

The 1.0 release went live at 5 PM UTC on May 5, 2026. By the morning of May 6 the game had crossed 25 verified-purchase reviews on Steam, all positive. The Steam description summarizes the loop as: click and gather wood, rocks, wheat, and "primordial cubes," then refine those into magical resources, build automation machines, slay glade monsters, farm crops, and trade resources for gold to unlock the next tier of the skill tree. There are four core resource branches, a blueprint shop for new building types, and hidden glade locations gated behind specific alchemy combinations.

The official trailer (ID uRViaOpsV_Q on YouTube) shows the early-game clicker stage and the mid-game automation transition. The developer has not yet published a content roadmap for post-launch updates.

Caption: The skill tree is the structural reason this is more than a tap-to-watch-numbers-go-up game. It gates real new content, not just multipliers.

GODEEPER: For the factory-building end of the automation genre (same week, same "carefully built over early access" story) shapez 2's 1.0 launch covers what 650,000 early-access players came back for. shapez 2 1.0 →

Why the Forage Wizard Launch Matters

Steam's incremental subgenre has had a strange year. Most paid clickers either lean into idle-only ad-revenue mechanics (NGU Idle, Antimatter Dimensions) or commit to a roguelike spin (Cookie Clicker stays free; Adventure Capitalist stays mobile-first). Lost Maxim's launch sits in a small but real niche: a paid-up-front cozy clicker with a skill tree that actually unlocks new mechanics, not just tap multipliers. The launch price is low enough that the comparison shoppers are not asking "is this worth $30," they're asking "is this worth one coffee." For 100% of the first 25-plus buyers on Steam, the answer was yes. Whether that holds at 200 reviews and 1,000 reviews is the next checkpoint, and the one to watch.

For genre fans: this is the kind of indie that gets compared to similar small launches like the recent Dead as Disco early access. Different genre, same "small studio, sharp hook, sub-$25" shape. If you came up through the All Hail the Orb alchemy systems, the loop will feel immediately legible. If you preferred the co-op pull of The Spell Brigade 1.0, Forage Wizard is the solo, low-stakes alternative for the same week.

GODEEPER: For a cozy creative sandbox with no automation loop but the same zero-pressure, no-fail design: Wax Heads launched the same day and applies the same philosophy to a vinyl record store. Wax Heads Review →

Frequently asked questions

When did Forage Wizard launch? Forage Wizard launched on Steam on May 5, 2026, at 5 PM UTC. The studio is Lost Maxim, same developer and publisher.

How much does Forage Wizard cost on Steam? $6.99 is the regular price. On October 28 Steam had it at $5.24 (25% off) in a promotion ending November 3; the earlier $5.59 promotion ended September 20. No DLC or season pass has been announced.

Is there a free demo? Not any more. The Forage Wizard Demo (App ID 4189140) stayed live after the paid release, but by October 28 its Steam page redirected to the store front and the game's page listed no demo.

Does Forage Wizard support macOS? Yes. Steam lists native macOS support for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs at the i7 minimum tier. Windows requirements are equally light, about 500 MB of disk.

Is it actually 100% positive on Steam? That was the May 6, 2026 launch snapshot after the first 25-plus buyer reviews. The current Steam listing checked for this audit is Very Positive at 86% from 1,530 reviews, with 83% of 100 recent reviews positive.

References

• Forage Wizard on Steam: official store listing, system requirements, review count.
• Forage Wizard (Official Trailer (YouTube)) Lost Maxim's launch trailer.